Chapter 34: The Crushing Weight of Genius
"One-on-one is a waste of time. You three should come at me together."
Aizen's words were not delivered with a shout or a boast, but with a simple, matter-of-fact clarity that made them even more shocking. They hung in the air, a blatant challenge that instantly shattered the tense atmosphere.
The Ino-Shika-Chō trio stared, utterly stunned. For a moment, they wondered if they had misheard. Even Kurenai was caught off guard. She had expected him to excel in a one-on-one match, but this was an entirely different level of audacity.
These three were not just any genin. They were the heirs of Konoha's most venerable clans, their family techniques refined over generations. Their teamwork was instinctual, making them far more dangerous together than the sum of their parts.
"Well, isn't that interesting?" Asuma remarked, his voice a low rumble. He took a long drag from his cigarette, the smoke pluming out with his words. "The kid's got a big mouth." He was annoyed; this arrogance felt like a slight against his own teaching.
Kurenai's initial surprise, however, melted away, replaced by a spark of intense curiosity in her crimson eyes. For reasons she couldn't fully explain, a part of her believed him. She found herself leaning forward, eager to see if he could actually back up such an impossible claim.
"Take on all three of us? You've got to be kidding!" Chōji burst out, his usual cheerful demeanor replaced by genuine offense. "Your whole team almost lost to us just now!"
Even the perpetually unbothered Shikamaru frowned deeply, his analytical mind struggling to find the logic in such a suicidal provocation. "This is... way too troublesome."
"The result will become clear soon enough," Aizen replied, his tone dismissive. He saw no need to elaborate.
"How are we doing this, then?" Ino demanded, planting her hands on her hips. "More basic taijutsu?"
"No," Aizen said, shaking his head slowly. A faint, almost imperceptible smile touched his lips. "That's child's play. I propose we fight with no restrictions. You may use your clan's secret techniques. Use whatever you wish."
"Secret techniques?!" Ino gasped.
The trio was rendered speechless. Allowing secret techniques changed everything. It meant they could fight at their full, synergistic potential. And Aizen was the one suggesting it, stripping away any possible excuse for their loss. From beginning to end, his attitude made it clear he considered them beneath his notice.
"That's it! I'm going to knock you into next week!" Chōji roared, his face flushing with anger as he ripped off his shirt.
"Aizen, are you absolutely sure about this?" Kurenai interjected, a note of concern in her voice. "Lifting all restrictions puts you at a severe disadvantage."
"There is no disadvantage," Aizen responded calmly, his gaze never leaving the three heirs. "I simply believe it will make them lose faster."
Asuma let out a sharp, dismissive snort. "Confidence is one thing, kid. Arrogance just leaves you with a bruised ego and a bloody nose." Being repeatedly mocked in front of Kurenai was grating on his nerves.
"Very well," Kurenai said, her decision made. She gave Aizen a small, confident nod. "If this is your choice, I trust your judgment. Begin!"
The two sides faced off. Aizen stood perfectly still, a picture of serene calm. Across from him, the Ino-Shika-Chō trio shifted into their combat stances, their expressions a mix of anger and grim determination.
"Shuriken!" Shikamaru commanded.
Acting in perfect unison, the three of them launched a volley of shuriken from three different angles, creating an inescapable net of spinning metal aimed at pinning Aizen down.
Aizen's hands moved in a blur, forming a single, familiar seal.
"Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!"
A massive sphere of roiling fire erupted from his mouth, swallowing the shuriken whole and dissipating them into molten slag. The wave of heat washed over the clearing, forcing the trio to shield their faces.
"He knows Fire Style too?!" Shikamaru's eyes widened in shock. They had all assumed, from the earlier ninjutsu test, that his affinity was primarily for Lightning. To see such a powerful Fire Style technique changed their calculations entirely.
"Hurry up and use your secret techniques," Aizen said, his voice cutting through the crackle of dying flames. "Otherwise, this will only end more quickly for you." His sharp, evaluating gaze made them feel like specimens under a microscope.
"You're going down!" Chōji bellowed, his pride thoroughly wounded.
"Partial Multi-Size Jutsu!"
Chakra surged, and his right fist ballooned to several times its normal size, becoming a massive, fleshy hammer. With a grunt of effort, he swung it forward, slamming it into the ground where Aizen stood.
BOOM!
The earth trembled. A cloud of dust and debris erupted, obscuring the impact point.
"Did he get him?" Ino asked, squinting into the dust.
As the cloud began to settle, they saw the crater was empty. Aizen had vanished.
"Chōji, behind you!" Ino screamed.
Chōji whirled around to find Aizen standing calmly a few meters behind him. But instead of attacking, Aizen offered a faint, almost pitying smile.
"Finally got you," Shikamaru's voice came, laced with triumph. His shadow had stretched across the ground during the confusion, now connecting perfectly with Aizen's. "Shadow Imitation Jutsu: Success!"
He smiled, believing the fight was over. But the smile froze on his face as the Aizen he had captured began to glitch and fade, dissolving into nothingness. It had been a simple Clone.
The real Aizen was now behind him.
"Too slow."
Aizen's foot snapped out in a vicious sweep, catching Shikamaru in the back and sending him stumbling forward directly into Chōji. Before the two could untangle themselves, Aizen raised a hand, a flicker of white energy gathering at his fingertips.
"Hadō #4: Byakurai."
A thin, precise beam of pale lightning lanced out. It wasn't aimed to kill, but to disrupt, striking the ground at their feet. The resulting explosion of force and dirt sent both Shikamaru and Chōji tumbling into the crater Chōji had just created, dazed and defeated.
Ino, seeing her two teammates taken out in seconds, paled. She tried to move, to form a hand seal for her Mind Body Switch Technique, but it was too late.
Aizen was already in front of her. He had closed the twenty-meter distance in the space of a single, sharp breath—a flicker of movement far beyond the Body Flicker he had shown before.
She felt a cold press of metal against her throat. Aizen was holding a single shuriken to her skin, his expression unreadable.
"Give up," he said, his voice soft yet utterly final. "As you are now, you are far too weak."
Ino could only nod, her body trembling with a mixture of fear and humiliation.
Silence descended upon the training ground. In less than a minute, the famed Ino-Shika-Chō formation had been completely and utterly crushed by a single genin, a boy who had been training for less than a month. The only sound was the faint crackle of fading lightning and the heavy breathing of the defeated.